The owner of a race horse at the center of a cheating storm says he is shaken and upset by allegations his animal was 'buzzed' with an outlawed electrical device.

Veteran trainer Danny Pish, 49, says he first learned of the controversy when a photo emerged of jockey Roman Chapa clutching the tiny gadget as he crossed the finish line at Sam Houston Race Park, Houston, Texas, on Quiet Acceleration January 17.

Mr Pish insisted he had never seen anyone using a similar device in his three decades in the sport and was appalled to learn it appeared to have been used on his six-year-old gelding, Quiet Acceleration.

The married father-of-one who runs a racing stable in rural Cibolo, just outside San Antonio, Texas, told Daily Mail Online: 'This has been really painful to me and my family.

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Photo finish: The photo (magnified to show detail) shot by Jack Coady, shows what officials say is jockey Roman Chapa, 43, using a banned device in a Texas race

Shocking: The device, which officials say is similar to the one pictured, is designed to deliver a shock to the horse in order to cause it to accelerate

Upset: Trainer Danny Pish (right) said that he was shaken by the claims of abusing the horse he has raised since birth but added: 'We are in a country where it's innocent until proven guilty.'

'I'm the breeder, I've raised this horse and have had him his whole life.

'If this was used on him - and we are in a country where it's innocent until proven guilty - then it would be very upsetting to me.'

Roman Chapa, 43, of Big Spring has been charged with unlawful influence on racing after being allegedly caught in the act of using the device in a photo taken near the finish line.

The jockey was running in fifth place in the $50,000 Richard King Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park on January 17 when his mount, Quiet Acceleration, pressed to the front of the pack and won by half a length.

Track photographer Jack Coady snapped a photo of Chapa just before the finish of the $50,000 race, which Quiet Acceleration had entered at 10-to-1 odds.

According to the Paulick Report, the photo accompanied a write-up on the track's website about the day's races.

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The day after the race, according to a probable cause complaint, Chapa contacted Coady, telling him to take the photo down from the website because 'it was a bad picture.'

After being confronted by Texas Department of Public Safety investigator Jeff Green, Chapa first denied having seen the photo, then claimed it was 'photo-shopped and someone was trying to frame him,' the complaint stated.

Two days after the race, Texas Racing Commission stewards suspended Chapa, pending an investigation and hearing.

Chapa faces a felony charge and that a warrant was issued for his arrest on Tuesday, but authorities have so far been unable to locate him.

There does not appear to be a direct precedent for prosecution of a jockey over use of such a device.

The horse has earned career winnings of $200,000 Mr Pish said. Mr Pish is a trainer, but has also bred some horses for racing, including Quiet Acceleration.

'He's done well in the past. Of the limited number of horses I've raised as a breeder, he's the best one,' Mr Pish said.

'He's had nine lifetime victories, ten if you include the race in question.

'I don't know how this device works because I know nothing about it. I know they are commonly used in dog training but they are not legal in horse training.

'It's illegal and I would never condone any illegal activity.

'I had no idea about any of this until the photo came out. I felt total disbelief, I just can't believe it's true.

Chapa was running in fifth place in the Richard King Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park on January 17 when his mount, Quiet Acceleration, pressed to the front of the pack and won by half a length

Chapa, left, has a checkered past including in 1994, right, when he was sanctioned by Texas officials for using a nail to spur his horse, Silver Sixes, at a qualifying race at the Gillespie County Fair

In action: Roman Chapa on Quiet Acceleration during the race at Sam Houston Race Park which ended in victory - but which he appeared to have won after using a device to shock the six-year-old

Big win: Quiet Acceleration had entered the $50,000 race at odds of 10-to-1

Victory salute: Roman Chapa celebrates victory on Quiet Acceleration but is now facing a felony charge over the use of an electric shock device

'I've checked him out. His health seems to be good and I don't see any after-effects.'

Chapa, 43, is one of a number of jockeys who have ridden Quiet Acceleration to victory, helping the mount amass winnings in excess of $200,000.

Mr Pish said: 'Jockeys are free agents. They jump from horse to horse.

'They have an agent and I let him know about possible races and that I'm interested in a jockey.

'I have limited control other than giving suggestions as to how the horse may be ridden.

'Mr Chapa has ridden the horse in the past and he's won on him before. I was aware of his one prior conviction but I never dreamed he would do something like this.

'This sort of thing is not seen as acceptable within horse racing. If he's found guilty he should be punished.'

Training ground: The horse's trainer is Dan Pish, who is based at these stables just outside San Antonio, Texas

Chapa's bail was set at $10,000 and he remained at large. In addition to the felony charge, Chapa faces the probability that the Texas Racing Commission will take way his license to race.

He has a checkered history as a jockey and has been suspended twice before for buzzing horses.

Chapa was sanctioned by Texas officials in 1994 for using a nail to spur his horse, Silver Sixes, at a qualifying race at the Gillespie County Fair. He was suspended from racing for nine months and fined $2,500, though at the time he was still an apprentice.

New Mexico racing officials suspended him for five years after he was reportedly caught using an electrical device back in 2007.

Chapa was also suspected of using a prohibited device after a Peta investigation in 2014 caught assistant trainer Scott Blasi on tape talking about the jockey using an electric buzzer.

'That silly-a-- Roman Chapa put it in his mouth in New Mexico,' Blasi was heard saying to jockey Gary Stevens and trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

'They came in to shake him down, he stuck it in his mouth, then he spit it out in his wash bucket,' Blasi added.

Chapa also received a sentence of 10 days in 2002 for a plea deal on cruelty to animals charges, after police said Chapa 'torture[d] an animal, namely a dog, by beating it with a strap'.